APIC ’12: Green revolution key megatrend for petrochemicals

18 May 2012 04:58[Source: ICIS news]

KUALA LUMPUR (ICIS)--Increasing public pressure for the use of green resources in the production of petrochemicals is an important megatrend that will shape the landscape of the market, key industry executives said on Friday.

“For petrochemical producers to thrive in an era of change and emergence of megatrends, we will need to pay greater attention to our value chain, ranging from sources of raw materials to our end-users,” said Yusa' Hassan, president of the Malaysian Petrochemicals Association (MPA).

Technology is a key tool to develop more efficient manufacturing processes and produce products for various applications that are friendly to the environment,” he said.

“The goal, as responsible corporate citizens, is to ensure business sustainability,” he added.

The petrochemicals industry must pursue various development strategies including technology convergence with other industries and business diversification such as developing environmentally friendly materials and low-carbon businesses, said Chong Bum-Shick, chairman of the Korea Petrochemical Industry Association.

The common issue among all petrochemical market players is the “environmental issue”, said Preston Chen, the chairman of the Petrochemical Industry Association of Taiwan.

“This is a troublesome and costly issue,” Chen said, adding that environmental concerns will strengthen further in the future.

“The environmental protection, conservation and pollution reduction should continue to be key issues for all businesses across our industry sectors,” he said.

“In Taiwan, as well as many other countries, more and more mega petrochemical projects have been turned down due to fierce anti-pollution protests,” Chen said.

“To overcome this, we still have a long way to go; our effort to protect the environment should continue to be one of our top priorities driving the industry,” he added.

Surging demand for natural resources will inevitably result in an increase in emissions such as greenhouse gases, and attempts to boost output could influence the natural environment and the ecosystem, said Kyohei Takahashi, the chairman of Japan Petrochemical Association (JPA).

“In order to conserve limited resources and protect the environment, and to achieve sustainable growth at the same time, the role of petrochemistry will be even greater,” Takahashi added.